war
zone. This is how Mindanao has been portrayed. For the
uninitiated, it is easier to visualize an island at war than go
to the place and see for ones self the validity of such a
description.

___Since the so-called "war
in Mindanao" started, the island has caught the medias
attention. It has consistently been in the headlines. Banner
reports range from kidnapping incidents, robbery, hostage taking,
military ambushes, shootouts, "war," to the more sober
"failed ceasefire" and peace talks. Headline photos
also show the fatalities of "war", military and
insurgents in full battle gear and in combat position, and women
and children taking up arms.

___Such media coverage gives the
impression that there is a full-blown "war" going on in
Mindanao. Marcelo Monteron, a carpenter in Kalookan City,
admitted to CyberDyaryo that he turned down a construction
job in Mindanao because, "I dont want to gamble my
life in war-torn Mindanao."

___"This is unfair because
the peace and order problem in Mindanao only happens in three
places in Sulu," said Jess Dureza, former Davao solon and
later President Ramos representative in Mindanao, during a
forum at Ciudad Fernandina organized by Growth with Equity in Mindanao
(GEM). GEM is an NGO working towards accelerated economic
growth in Mindanao, and ensuring that the benefits of growth are
widely distributed among the people of Mindanao.

___According to GEM, a lot of
development activities are happening in Mindanao, yet it is only
the insurgency problem that gets reported. It is for this reason
that the organization decided to bring business people from
Mindanao to Manila to speak on their respective experiences in
the area. "By holding this kind of activity, we hope that
people get an accurate view of the place," said Penny Poole,
GEM Comunication Program Advisor, adding that the forum was just
the first among a series of fora the organization intends to
host.

___Mindanao, the countrys
second largest island located in the southern part of the
Philippines, is home to some 16 million people. It contributes 34
per cent of the countrys total agricultural production; 44
per cent of domestic food trade; and 13 per cent of its total
manufacturing output.

___Data released by GEM show that
Mindanao is booming. For instance, from 1992 to 1996, the number
of telephone lines increased by 60 per cent per year. The gross
regional domestic product (GRDP) bounced from a negative in 1992
to 4.07 per cent growth in 1996. Investments posted a 43 per cent
growth in 1996. Energy consumption increases 13 per cent per
year, and construction, by 28 per cent per year. As GEM reported,
there are a lot of investment
potential and opportunities in the area.

___But these data are unknown to
most people. And representatives from the islands banking,
finance, tourism, and property sectors of the place, are out to
refute the distorted notion that people have about the place, and
show the "other side of Mindanao."

___Cynthia Subijano, executive
vice president of Pryce Properties Corporation (PPC) said that
her company succeeded in its various ventures in the place
because her boss, first and foremost, believes in Mindanao. PPC,
according to Subijano, grew ten times since its operation in the
area. "This just shows the potential of the area, and that
there are indeed economic opportunities in Mindanao," she
said at the forum.

___But Subijano also revealed:
"During my first few visits in Mindanao, I wouldnt
even step out of the airport until I saw my escort. But not
anymore. Now I feel safer walking the streets of Cagayan de Oro
than Makati where my residence is located."

___Vangie Escubillo of Anchor
Savings Bank (ASB) said that ASB is doing well in General Santos
City. She added that the bank is even planning to expand in other
places in Mindanao. Like Subijano, she had misconceptions about
Mindanao at the outset but quickly changed her view as soon as
she saw the place.

___Speaking for the business
sector, Guido Alfredo Delgado said: "The current business
situation in Mindanao is not affected, in any way, by the peace
and order problem in some areas. First, because most business
establishments are in the cities of Davao, Cagayan de Oro,
Iligan, Butuan, and General Santos  which are hundreds or
even thousands of kilometers away from places where this
so-called war happens." If there is a business
downtrend, Delgado added, it is not because of the peace and
order situation in Mindanao but because of the financial crisis
which is happening not just in the area but throughout the
country and the Asian region.

___Escubillo agreed with Delgado,
adding, "Theres never been a business establishment
that left Mindanao because of the peace and order
situation." However,Escubillo said that there are business
venture plans that have been put on hold because some investors
have gotten scared of media reports on Mindanao.

___As Dureza quipped, "It is
not true that there is war in Mindanao. The insurgency problem in
Sulu is very contained. Just go around Davao, or Cagayan de Oro,
or even Iligan, which is closer to the Muslim areas, and
youll find out how normal life is in the place."

___Former Davao City tourism head
Margie Moran said that the problem in Mindanao is mostly economic
and political, and not religious as some people want to think.
"If government will focus on developing Mindanao, provide
resources to the economically-depressed places, I guess peace and
order will prevail," she said.

___Medias portrayal of
Mindanao, Moran said, "has prevented developers and
investors to step forward. They get scared by what they read in
the papers."

___Dureza appealed to media
practitioners to dateline their stories in the place where the
events actually took place. "If you are reporting an
incident in a barrio in Maguindanao, please dateline it as such,
and not Davao City or Iligan City or Cotabato City," he
said. "By inaccurate datelining, people think that it is the
whole of Mindanao that experiences such insurgencies."

___Asked how much profit they
would project if the peace and order situation in Mindanao
improves, Delgado said that the more relevant issue would be
"how much more profit we will make if the government
provides the needed infrastructure to open Mindanao to the
world." But he later said, "We dont want to
belabor this age-old issue of Mindanao not getting enough support
from the government vis-à-vis its economic contribution to the
country. There is always an investment aimed beyond the political
issue. People invest in Mindanao not exclusively for monetary
considerations."

___People invest in Mindanao, he
added, because they believe in it and its promise.

___With or without government
support, Delgado said, "We will work on our own and prove
that the entrepreneurial spirit is alive in Mindanao."